Gun safety, minimum wage and other WA bills die after first deadline

Every year, lawmakers in Washington introduce hundreds of pieces of legislation and, well, many of them end up just being ideas. They never gain traction. And some take several sessions to pass.

Legislating can be a brutal process, where the strike of the hour could seal a bill’s fate. That’s what happened Friday, the cutoff for bills that change laws but don’t impact the budget. If a bill didn’t pass from committee, it will not advance in 2025.

The next deadline is this Friday for bills that cost money to pass from committee. And the last day of the session is April 27. 

Here are some of the policy bills that didn’t make it this year:

Firearm safety

House Bill 1504: Introduced by Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, and seven other House Democrats, this legislation would have required residents who wish to own guns to have up to $25,000 of liability insurance per firearm. Failure to do so would have resulted in a class 1 civil infraction, which carries a monetary penalty of up to $250. 

House Bill 1118: This bipartisan bill was backed by Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, one other House Democrat and two Republican lawmakers, but did not advance past a public hearing Jan. 21.

The bill, if passed, would have made it easier for individuals with past criminal convictions to file a petition for the restoration of their firearms rights. The proposal would have excluded people with some offenses from petitioning, such as certain felony drug offenses, felony sex offenses or felony offenses with a maximum sentences of at least 20 years.

Minimum wage

House Bill 1764: Under this proposal, workers in Washington would have made up to $25 an hour by 2031. Starting in 2026, the legislation would have increased the minimum wage yearly in $1.50 increments. Currently, the state’s minimum wage is $16.66, though it is much more in some cities.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, but did not make it past a public hearing on Feb. 11. A companion bill was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, but that bill also did not advance.

Methane emissions

House Bill 1630: A bill that caused a bit of a controversy this year, this legislation would have required dairy farmers to measure and report the methane released by their cows. Republicans referred to it derisively as “The Cow Fart Bill.”

It was introduced by one of the newest lawmakers this session, Rep. Lisa Parshley, D-Olympia, with the support of seven other Democratic lawmakers. Democrats said the bill was aimed at better understanding methane emissions in the state, but Republicans argued it was meant to be a vehicle to eventually include cow farmers in the state’s carbon auction. 

Traffic safety

House Bill 1512: This legislation aimed to limit the reasons law enforcement officers could pull over drivers. The bill directed officers to deprioritize violations such as broken taillights or expired tabs, and would have given officers the ability to mail traffic infractions to the registered owner of a vehicle without having to stop or detain the driver. The bill would have also established a grant program to help low-income drivers achieve compliance with nonmoving violations such as providing repair vouchers. 

Introduced by Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, and 20 other House Democrats, the bill did not move past a public hearing Feb. 10. Street previously introduced the legislation in 2023, but the bill did not gain much traction that session.

State flag

House Bill 1938 — A proposal to start the process of redesigning the state flag did not make it past a committee in time for the cutoff Friday. Lawmakers who crafted the bill noted the state’s current design “often faces criticism for its poor design and lack of relevance to the state’s identity,” and proposed a redesign by 2028. Republicans were in opposition, and encouraged the public to push back on the bill introduced by Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, and two other Democrats.

Just because the bill died does not mean readers can’t still submit flag redesigns to The Seattle Times. Send your designs to morningbrief@seattletimes.com. We’ll share a few of our favorites soon.